Carrying case for keys



April 9 c. A. OLBERG 2,884,037

CARRYING CASE FOR KEYS Filed May 14, 1957 I 2 Sheets-Shae; 1

INVENTOR. CARL A. SOLBERG April 28, 1959 c. AfsO LBERGf 8 ,0 I

CARRYING CASE FOR KEYS Filed May 14, 1957 'FIG' "'INVENTOR. CARL A.SOLBERG 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent CARRYING CASE FOR KEYSCarl A. Solberg, Seattle, Wash.

Application May 14, 1957, Serial No. 659,010

4 Claims. (Cl. 150-40 This present invention is a key-carrying devicewhich holds the keys in a fixed position and thus makes it easy todetermine on a certain key even in the dark. A further outstandingfeature of this key holder is the fact that each key has a separatecarrying position in which it is separated from each of the other keysof a group by a sheet of flexible material, and which key-holdingpositions are spread over suflicient lateral extent so that there willnever be more than two key thicknesses where they overlap and thus apocket carrying key holder is provided which is relatively thin and isconvenient to carry and does not make unsightly bulges in the pocket.

Many devices have been produced in the past, with the purpose ofproviding a key holder for a plurality of keys, which is adapted to becarried in the pocket and to, after a fashion, position the keys so thatthey can .be found easily. The various key containers that have beenobserved have been characterized. by having very appreciable thicknesswhich is objectionable, in that it makes a bulge in the pocket and, inorder to hold the keys in a covered position so that they will notpromote undue wear in the pocket, various covering means have beenprovided, involving snap fasteners and intermeshing hook closures, andall such arrangements have made it slow to get out a key that isdesired. It is therefore believed that I have produced a key holder orcarrying device which overcomes the many deficiencies of equipment usedinthe past and has many advantages that are not believed to have beenused before in this type of equipment.

The principal object of this present invention therefore is to provide akey holder for use in .mens pockets and ladies handbags, which entirelycovers the keys yet makes the keys very readily available without thenecessity of opening any special fasteners or covering devices.

A further object of this invention is to provide a key holder thatdistributes the keys transversely, to the end that overlapping of thekeys is restricted to '.not over two thicknesses of keys at any onepoint, so that a very thin device can be made for this purpose. v

A further object of this invention is to provide a key holder thatpreferably does not contain any metal in its structure and is made offlexible sheet material, to the end that a soft, pliant key holder isprovided that is most acceptable for personal use.

A further object of this present invention is to provide in eachkey-holding position a retaining ledge, so that the key is held quitesecurely in what might be likened to the leaves of a book so that itwill be securely positioned yet can be readily extracted and swung intoa position for use.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from thedescription and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended orare inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates one form of my present invention, in which one ofthe keys is shown in its using position and two other keys are shownpartially revolved from their carrying position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating the form of the varioussheet material elements, in their substantial position of use, but notjoined together.

Figure -3 is a carrier after the general showing of Figure 1, in whichtwo of the leaves have been turned back to illustrate the manner inwhich the keys are held in position and to further illustrate one formof key-retaining ledge.

Figure 4 is a somewhat modified form of this device, in which a coveringmember is provided, and this has been found to be a particularlydesirable form for use in handbags and the like where the same will notbe carefully positioned.

Figure 5 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 but showing the formbest adapted to use by a right-handed person.

Figure 6' is a top plan view of a key retainer made after the teachingsof this invention and showing the preferred overlap of the variousjuxtapositioned keys.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 77of Figure 5.

Figures 8 and 9 are illustrative views showing how the key carrier isopened and a key selected.

Figure 10 illustrates a variant form wherein a secondary pocket isprovided for each key.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, thenumerals 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 designate, respectively, separate sheetsof flexible sheet material employed in making one of the preferred formsof my present invention. Throughout the drawings, two general forms ofthe key holder are shown. Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate the form ofholder best suited for a lefthanded person, and Figures 4, 5, 8 and 9illustrate the form best adapted for use by a right-handed person. Theparts therefore are substantially identical, but are reversed in theassembly in order to facilitate handling the keys. In either case a basesheet as 20 is employed, and to this sheet are secured by stitching aplurality of leaf members as 18, 16, 14, 12 and the like, it beingapparent of course that the number of the additional separators orleaves is merely a function of the number of keys that it is desired tocarry, inasmuch as a separate space is preferably provided for eachseparate key. These separators are all stitched to the back member as 20on their bottom margins as 22, one side margin as 24 and part way onlyon the upper margin 26. This upper stitching is terminated 'asillustrated in Figures 3 and 9 at a point 30.

The keys themselves are preferably secured in the carrier by a thong as32 which passes through elongated openings as 34 in each of theseparator members except the outermost one, as the member 12 in Figure2, which is provided as a matter of convenience, with three roundopenings 36 which make it possible to secure the end of the thong afterthe showing of Figures 1, 3, 4, 5 and 9. The same form of thong-securingmeans is best employed for base member 20. It will be readily understood that various forms of supporting means might be employed. However,in this present device it is particularly desirable that everything bekept soft, pliant and flexible, so that it will be convenient to carry,and for this purpose a thong of leather or suitable sheet material hasproven to be a very satisfactory choice. The thongs of course must passthrough an opening in the handle end of the keys.

Referring to Figures 6, 7 and 8, it will be noted that the working orcombination ends of the keys are arranged to fit into a V, asillustrated at 40, 42 and 44 of Figure 6. These Vs are formed by theseparator members as 12, 14, 16 and 18, and the backing sheet asPatented Apr. 28,1959

20... This; V -shaped.,receiving ,arrangement. for the... keys isfurther tightened down on the keys by the stitching along the bottomedge of the separators as 22. It has been-noted, howeventhat this doesnot provide a really" secure retaining means for the keys unless thesheet material'is quite stifl, and'this is not desirable in a devicethatisgoing to have several layers of the material, because it then becomesstiff andunwieldywhen put in the-pocket for'carrying. It has thereforebeenfound desirable to provide an abutting surface as retaining member,and these'are shown at 50, 52 and 54. It will be apparent, it isbelieved, that with the narrow or combination end of the key depositedin the V-shaped portion as.:40 and, further, in abutting relationship tothe edge 50 formed by the margin of adjacent member, a quitesecurearrangement is made for holding the key, even thoughthe-sheetmaterial be quite pliable, as, for'instance, some of the softerleathers. The form shown in Figure :6 can'be'made to give increasedresistance to the'movement of the. key, if the stitching is kept backsomewhat from the edges 50, 52 and 54, and this'will givethe-sheetmaterial a'chance to curl outwardly slightly' and give greater securityagainst key movement.

Figure 3 illustrates a further development of this thought, in that themargins of the separators are curled back and stitched as at 60 and 62,and 66. This is a particularly desirable arrangement where relativelywide combination ends are-used on keys.

In Figure '4'anadditional' covering member is provided at 70. Thiscovering member is fixed on all sides'to. the backing mate'rial120,except for'the one free vdiagonally cutmargin72; Thisarrangement. gives.:best security for the'position of the keys when the key holder is:going to'be placedzin aladyshandhag, for instance, where it might cometo rest in'any position and gravity and working, due to movement of thehandbag'while carrying, might tend to work .theikeys loose from thenormal retaining means. A separate partial pocket 74 is'providedforeach. key and as an aid in turning the key to the position of use thepocket forming sheet is cut away at 76. This cover 70 can of course beapplied to any of the'variant forms of this key holder.

InFigure a modified form of key-securing means is provided, inthataseparate partial pocket 75 is provided for each key. This pocket ispreferably cut back at 77 to permit easy'access to the key when it isdesired for use.

Figure 8' illustrates one convenient manner of using my key holder whenit is desired to revolve a key into position for use as shown, forinstance, in Figure 1 or 9. Inasmuch as every reasonable measure istaken to hold the key securely'in its own carrying position, it has beenfound that a definite procedure for selecting a preferred key-should'beestablished, and this is illustrated particularly in Figure 8 in which,for a'right-handed person; the-secondfinger is used to separate theseparators or leaves'of the key holder, and that frees the thumb andforefinger for use in gripping the key, normally near the handle end sovthaLthe. .same. can..be -raisedabove the...

abutment as 50 and the keycan then be revolved out where it can beemployed in the average lock. This final step is shown in Figure 9.

In Figure 9 I have illustrated a tab form of abutment 80. These engagethe combination portion of the key about midway. It has beenfound that,even though these tabs are quite flexible, they coact with the sepaal-lydisplaced marginally 'securedlo 'saidbase sheet across: their.v bottomedges, alongitheir upright edges and .con-

tinuing partially iacrossgtheir'z top margins; each .of: said separatorsheetsiforming," with? the said base sheet; a V- shaped retainingmeansforsakey; a commonfiexible key supporting'means passing throughthe'upper :portion of '1 eachv of said flexible sheets; and:key'positioning abutments vertically disposed in: each .key? space;formed along the secured edge.ofiieach.laterally displaced separator andadapted tto'engagethe combination end of the key using thespace"and.thus holdthelkeys in a-laterally' disposed. arrangementwhereineach key -on'ly partially over-' laps :Jthe adjoining keys- 2.The subject matter. of .claim1i1,- said basesheet and saidseparatorsheets providing a F key-carrying case' having awidth equal tothe combined width of several keys;

3. The subject matter of clairn 1, said'separator sheets secured to saidbase sheet' in overlapping relationship, spaced transverselya-distance'equal tosubstantially half the width of said separatorsheets.

4. A carrying case for keys, made of flexible sheet material,comprising: a base-sheet of flexible material; a plurality of separateseparator sheets of flexible sheet material disposedto'provide-aseparate V-shaped space for each -key to be carried; said separatorsheets-mar ginally secured to said base sheet-across'th'eir bottomedgesand along-their upright edgesinoverlapping, laterally displaceddisposition; eachofsaid separator sheetsforming, with thesaidlb'ase-sheet, a-V-shaped retaining means for a-key;'and acommon-flexiblekey-supporting;

means passing through the uppen portion of .each .of "said flexiblesheets.-

References:Cited iri therfile' of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS2,122,9342 Economak-isLdi .July,'5,2 1938 2,295,123. Mudrichi Sept..8,1942- 2,442,479. Adair J 11116 1,- 1948

